Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
by Splash-of-Color
Summary: Just a random story that shows how much Ikuto deserves someone special.


**Author's Notes:  
**I'm not sure when this would happen, but it's before Ikuto turned evil and stuff. I love Ikuto and I want him to be happy! Poor Ikuto! Ok, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Yoru!" Kiyomi called as she ran up the lush green hill. She was chasing Yoru, a small cat-like chibi. He had hit her on the head and laughed about it, making her smile and chase after him. The small Chara had other intentions when he hit that girl on the head, however. He laughed, a hiss sort of sound and continued to run, or rather float, away from her. "Yoru come back!" She called again.

"Ikuto! Ikuto!" Yoru called as he floated faster towards the 17 year old, blue haired boy laying in the grass. "I brought you a friend-nya!" The small blue neko called to his master. The boy had his arms behind his head, his legs crossed at the ankles while he supposedly slept. Kiyomi got to the top of the hill and looked around for Yoru, spotting him by a strange boy in the same uniform as her. She started forward, only to have her shoe catch on the other one, causing her to trip and fall forward. She rolled down the hill, landing beside the boy. The boy rose up to sit on his elbows and look over at her. Rubbing her head, Kiyomi smoothed her black hair and rub the back of her head. Her cheeks were pink and her small mouth was mouthing an "ouch".

"Oh, my head." She mumbled.

"Look! Look! Friend-nya! Praise me!" Yoru said as he waved his small arms in the air. Kiyomi opened her eyes slowly and they drifted over to see the boy looking down over her. Her large brown eyes stared up into his deep royal eyes, his head being silhouetted by the sun. Kiyomi's cheeks turned redder, making her look and move away from him.

"Uh, sorry.. Have you seen a little…." She paused and brushed her black uniform. "Uh, rather…have you seen a small cat? His name is Yoru and he went this way--"

"Yoru," Ikuto said as he laid back down, his eyes closing again. "What have you gotten into?" He asked. Kiyomi turned around looked for the chibi he was talking to.

"Surprise-nya!" The wide eyed chibi kitten called. Kiyomi jumped before falling over, her eyes and mouth wide. She rubbed her butt and while she did, she heard a faint sound…._Is that laughing_? She looked up to find the boy chuckling. She frowned and started to say something, but decided against it.

"C--can you see him?" She asked as she pointed to Yoru.

"He's my pet-nya!" Yoru interrupted Ikuto while putting his hands on his hips. "Kiyomi-sama, do you have any food-nya?" He asked as he floated over to her bag. She stared at the boy, inspecting him from where she stood.

"You go to my school." She said as she pointed to him. He looked at her and noticed her uniform and nodded.

"Yup." He said as he went back to sleeping.

"Food! Ikuto! I found food-nya!" Yoru flew over to Ikuto, landing on his stomach with a large cookie in his hands. Kiyomi walked over to them and sat on her knees.

"Ikuto huh?" She asked softly. "I'm Kiyomi." She said holding out her hand. He looked at it and continued to eat his cookie.

"He's lazy-nya." Yoru said, his mouth full.

"Yoru, what did I tell you?" Yoru made a "hm" noise and nodded.

"Sorry-nya!" He said as he swallowed what was in his mouth. She smiled and pet his small head.

"No need to be. I'm just kidding. If you listened to everything I say you'd be a house cat not a wild cat." He nodded and took a bite of his cookie before mumbling something. She laughed and shook her head. "Well, the truth is, no matter what type of cat it is, pet or wild, they can go and come as they please. Right Yoru?" She asked with a smile. Ikuto sat up, making Yoru fall over with an odd noise, and stared at her, his dark, angry indigo eyes seeming to see right through her.

"How can you see him?" He demanded. She blinked and turned her head.

"Kagome can see him too." She said as she opened her bag to find a chibi, the size of Yoru, looking up at them. She wore a backwards baseball hat, overalls and small black shoes, and around her neck was a small locket. She narrowed her brown eyes at Ikuto while her mouth was full of cake. Kiyomi laughed and pet her head gently. "She's my…Yoru." She said with a smile.

"What do you want to be?" He asked as he looked at Kagome.

"Well," She said as she put her finger to her chin. "Kagome is my more wild and childish self. Usually, I don't chase after small chibi cats or talk to complete strangers." She said smiling. Ikuto looked at her and frowned.

"What was your name again?"

"Kiyomi." She said as she watched him. He blinked his big blue eyes and looked away.

"What do you want with Yoru?" He asked, touching the chibi on the head. Yoru made a "-nya" sound and looked up at him, one eye closed. He tried to moved his hand with one of his large paws, but Ikuto kept it there. Kiyomi smiled and picked up her own chibi.

"He hit me on the head so I chased after him." She said simply with a shrug. "And Kagome wanted to play." She added. Ikuto and Yoru looked at her and only Yoru agreed quickly.

"Ok! Let's play! You're it-nya!" He said touching Kagome on the head with his large paw. Kagome floated away, chasing after Yoru. Kiyomi smiled at the both of them before turning to look at Ikuto. Biting her lip, she moved close to him, inspecting his frown.

"I bet you look better with a smile, Ikuto-sama." She said poking his cheek gently. He looked at her, smacking her hand away. Laughing a little, she sat back on her knees and held her hand, which was now red, to her chest. "Grouchy in the morning aren't you?" She asked. "Why aren't you at school?" She asked. He shrugged and looked away from her, making her shrug as well and smile at him.

"Why do you smile so much?" He shot at her. She shrugged again and turned her head, her smile shrinking a little.

"Why would I want to frown? Living is great!" She said, her smile returning. "Even if it is caged." She informed. He looked at her and stared. How did she know when to say things like that. She stood with a smile. "I'm sorry to bother you while you're skipping school, Ikuto-sama, but we have to _get_ to that school. Kagome!" She said as she put her hands around her mouth.

"Hay." She said as she floated over. Kagome and Kiyomi waved to the two boys.

"Bye for now." They said.

"Wait." Ikuto stood in front of her, two large cat ears on his head and a tail swinging from his back. They were the same navy blue as his hair. "Why don't you and your Chara stay with us?" He asked as he stared at her, one eyebrow raised. He wanted to know who she was. Why she said those things about cats, why did she decide to chase Yoru even though she was on her way to school, and why she was so happy. She frowned a little and bit her lip.

"Ok!" She suddenly burst out. She clamped her hands over her mouth and it wasn't until Kagome was sitting on her head giggling did she realized she took over for her.

"Great." He said as he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Kagome, you and Yoru go play." Kagome nodded and floated off to continue playing with the other chara. Ikuto looked her over before he sat down. "You're short." He observed. She laughed and shrugged.

"Maybe you're just too tall." She said as she sat with Ikuto on the grass. He was sitting with his arms on his knees, his hands folded together. His big blue eyes were staring out, seeing everything and nothing at the same time. Kiyomi was staring out as well, trying to figure out what he was looking at. All that was there was the city, clouds and clear blue sky.

"Do you really think that cats can go wherever they please?" He asked without looking at her. She looked at him and shrugged a little before looking out again.

"Cats are odd creatures. No matter who they belong to, they still have a way of being their own person." He nodded a little and looked at his hands. "Why such a long face, Ikuto-sama?" She asked.

"It's nothing." She frowned and poked the side of his head. His eyes went wide, his arms waved in the air, trying to catch himself since he almost fell over. He looked at her with narrowed eyes and a frown, but it only made her smile.

"I'm not stupid," She said. "I can tell when something's wrong with someone." He sighed.

"It's just this thing with my step-dad." She nodded and fell back to lay in the grass. Ikuto looked over at her and watched her as she spoke.

"Things will always seem complicated when you're angry, you know. Clear your head. Instead of sitting here and thinking about all that stuff, just think of something that makes you happy. Whether it be a girl you like, a pretty cloud or even Yoru." Ikuto looked away again. Who was she? Why did he care about what she said? "Something that makes you feel better….Something that makes you forget." She put her hands behind her head. "Forgetting is sometimes the easiest thing to do." She laughed and looked over at him. "Just as long as you don't forget forever." He looked at her again and sighed.

"Why are you so carefree?" She shrugged.

"Living life isn't supposed to be about worrying." She sat up and looked at the sky. "It's about dreaming and playing. About being free and happy. You," She looked at him with a small smile. "Seem to be lacking in that area." She looked over at Yoru and Kagome, who were floating their way. "Maybe you should look into that." She informed. Kagome laughed a little and sat on her head before suddenly, Kiyomi stood up and pulled Ikuto up with her. "Let's go! We're going on an adventure!" She said as she looked at Yoru. He nodded and character changed with Ikuto. She smiled and winked. "You're cute when you look like that." She informed him as she pulled him along. Ikuto's cheeks turned pink, but he kept up with her, oddly aware of her hand in his. She pulled him along, telling him jokes and such, but only to have him frown and look away from her. She pouted a few times, getting a stuffed animal for him from a gift shop they passed and finally, she began to give up. That is, until at about noon, they reached a small stand selling different foods. She grinned and looked over at him.

"What? What's that look?" She smiled and whispered in his ear, "Distract him," before leaving his side to walk around the cart.

"Can I help you?" The man asked. Ikuto looked at Kiyomi and then at the man.

"Is there any….taiyaki?" He glanced at Kiyomi, who was grabbing a cake and a muffin before hiding them behind her back.

"No…" The man said as he looked at Ikuto with narrowed eyes. "This is a pastry cart, sir." Kiyomi walked away from where she had stood and pulled Ikuto by the arm.

"Thank you!" Kiyomi said, waving her hand.

"Hey!" The man shouted as he pointed to her hand. In her hand was a cake. Ikuto's eyes went wide and his mouth turned into a triangle before he looked back at the man.

"I--" Kiyomi smirked and handed Ikuto the cake before starting to run away. She laughed as she ran and looked back at Ikuto.

"Let's go before he catches you!" She said pointing to the man behind him. Ikuto jumped a little and ran to catch up with her. She giggled as they ran, looking back at the man who was chasing after them. Ikuto was holding his own, running fast enough to keep up with her and jumped to land on the top of a staircase. Pouting while she ran, Kiyomi ate the stairs up, two at a time. She stood with Ikuto and looked back at the man, who was huffing and puffing at the bottom. She giggled and pulled Ikuto by the hand to the left.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She giggled and looked at him.

"What are you talking about? We're running away from that guy!" She said as she pointed to the man who was climbing the stairs. She laughed and took off again. Ikuto frowned and followed after her. She laughed when they finally got to a patch of trees and stood in the middle, panting heavily. Ikuto stopped next to her, doing the same.

"What--" She put her finger to her lips and listened for a moment. She smiled and looked back at him.

"Ready? We're going to play tag." She said as she jumped up onto a large branch. "And you're it." She said giggling as she jumped to another one before running away. Ikuto sighed, his hands in his pockets before, before jumping onto the same branch and looked up at her.

"Why--" Kiyomi was gone. He blinked and dropped to the ground before running. Where had she gone? Ikuto looked around while he ran.

"I can't believe you're so slow!" Kiyomi said as she dropped in front of him. He crashed into her and she laughed when she turned him around to stand up straight. "For a cat, you're very slow." She repeated with a giggle before she took off in a completely different direction. Ikuto held back a grin and ran after her, touching her on the back.

"Now you're it." He said as he moved faster. Kiyomi's laughter rang in his ears. She really was a big kid. She was already in front of him, her eyes closed, her mouth in a wide smile. He stopped short and stared at her.

"Again, you're much too slow for a cat." She said with a laugh. She touched his chest and started to run again. Ikuto let out a soft laugh and ran after her. When he cleared the trees, he saw Kiyomi jumping in front of a familiar group of kids. "Sorry," She said with a giggle. "I was just tempted to do it. Hi!" She waved and looked at Ikuto. "Come on, Ikuto. I'm standing still. Can't you catch me?" Ikuto's smile vanished when his eyes landed on Amu Hinamori and Tadase Hotori.

"Ikuto…" The two of them said. Kiyomi turned her head and jogged over to Ikuto.

"Do you know them?" She asked as she stared up at him. He straightened, put his hands in his pockets, and closed his eyes.

"Tadase, nice to see you again." He said as he started walking. Kiyomi frowned, holding her hands close to her chest, and watched him as he stood in front of the pink haired girl and blond boy. He leaned in close to the girl and smirked. "You too, Amu." He said. Kiyomi turned to walk away, feeling like she didn't belong when Kagome shook her head.

"We're not done playing, Kiyomi." Kiyomi suddenly started beaming and ran over to Ikuto. "Why did you stop playing?" She asked as she tugged on his arm. He looked at her and pulled his arm away.

"I don't play kid games." She stared at him and felt her heart start to break.

"Ikuto…." She whispered.

"Kid games are useless." He told her before looking back at the two in front of him.

"Useless…" She repeated. The pink haired girl looked at her, noticing that her big brown eyes were filling with tears. Suddenly, those very same eyes grew blank and her body limp. She fell to the ground as an egg, black with a large white X on it, flew from her chest.

"Kiyomi?" Ikuto said as he turned just in time to catch her.

"Useless! Useless! Useless!" The egg sang as it danced. It giggled and cracked. A small black figure jumped out of the broken egg, a wide grin on it's face. "Useless! Useless! Play with meeee!" It shouted as small black orbs flew from its hands. The group jumped aside and Ikuto stared. Was that Kagome? Ikuto looked at the group, who had already character transformed and was ready to fight.

"Wait!" Ikuto called as he put Kiyomi on the ground. "Yoru."

"Here we come Kiyomi-sama! Kagome-nya!"

"Useless!" Again, the black figure shouted as another series of orbs flew from it's hands, aimed at Ikuto.

"Ikuto!" Amu, Tadase and Yoru called at the same time. Ikuto jumped up to avoid the attack and landed on a lamp post.

"Kagome!" Ikuto called before the creature attacked him again. Once again, he jumped and avoided the attack. "Kagome, I know you can hear me! Please stop this!" For a moment, the creature stopped and Ikuto dropped to the ground. "Kagome, listen. I know what I said. It wasn't the greatest thing." The creature shook its head and opened its mouth, shouting as the orbs flew at Ikuto.

"Rima-chan!" Tadase called to the blond girl dressed as a clown. She nodded and started her attack, but Ikuto looked at them.

"Wait." He said before when he landed next to them. "I can talk to her." He jumped again and landed on another lamp post. "Kagome please! Child games aren't useless. They're great. You and Kiyomi are the most fun I've had in a long time. I never realized how much I missed playing around. Please, stop this!" The black figure stopped. "You're not useless, Kagome. Being a kid is great. Being a kid helps you. It gives you a reason to smile. I'm sorry." The figure folded over on itself, it's tiny arms holding it's ears.

"Useless? I'm….I'm not useless?"

"No, Kagome, you're not." Ikuto said as he got on one knee while standing on the lamp post. He held his hands out, as if he were begging. "Please listen to me. You are a wonderful chara. Your owner is a wonderful person. You two said that forgetting is sometimes the best thing. I didn't know what you meant but now I do. The best way to forget is to stop being a grown up for a while. You and Kiyomi taught me that. Please, stop this and help me forget for a little longer."

"I'm not useless." The chara said softly. After a moment, the small character was placed in an egg.

"Amu-chan, cleanse it." He told her. Nodding, the pink haired girl made a heart with her hands. "Negative heart, lock on! Open heart!" Large amounts of pink energy erupted from the girl's hands and made the small chibi yell and the x on her head break. A white light engulfed the figure and when the light cleared, Kagome floated there and looked around.

"Kagome," Ikuto said as he jumped down. Kagome floated over to him and smiled.

"Hello, Ikuto-sama." She said before hitting his forehead with her hand. "Why did you call me useless?" She asked putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know." He said pouting a little. She laughed and shrugged.

"Where's Kiyomi?" She asked looking around. Ikuto made a "huh" sound and looked around Kagome to where Kiyomi was supposed to be laying.

"Where'd she go?" He asked as he walked over to where he had put Kiyomi down.

"Where'd who go?" Kiyomi asked as she leaned against him, her arm on his shoulder. She was eating her muffin. She looked up at him and turned her head. "Why are you frowning again? I thought we were having fun!" She said smiling brightly. He looked over at her and smiled a little as well.

"Fun? Yeah right." He said rolling his blue eyes. She pouted but shrugged.

"Let's go cat-boy." She said taking another bite of her muffin while she walked away. "You're still it." She told him as she walked over to Kagome. "Muffin?" She offered. The chibi took a bite and they looked over at the group of kids. "Hi!" She said as she waved. The group waved back, all of them very confused. Ikuto walked over to Kiyomi and gently pet the girl's head.

"You're it, Small fry." Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide.

"Small fry! I'm not even that short!" She called as she followed after him.

"See you later Kiddy King. Amu." He said, waving his hand while he walked. Kiyomi walked faster, waving back at them a little.

"Nice meeting you!" She called before she and Kagome ran to catch up with Ikuto, who started running as well. "Aaah!" She said, dragging out the word as she ran after him.

"Did…Did Ikuto just…" Amu asked softly, the atmosphere around them all changing. They were all confused, their eyes narrowed and their mouths small..

"I think he's playing a game with that girl." The blue haired boy, Nagihiko, said as he watched them walk away.

"Game?" The brown haired girl with pigtails, Yaya, asked.

"He's…he's having fun." Tadase said softly.

"I didn't know he could have fun." The blond girl said, Rima, her eyes watching the two of them run around. The black haired girl was running after Ikuto, who was jumping around backwards, smiling at her while he did. She was pouting but seemed to be having fun at the same time. It confused the group even more.

"I didn't know he could smile so much." Amu said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, we should keep going. The chairman wouldn't want us to dally." Tadase said smiling.

"Right." The others agreed before continuing on. Tadase stayed after for a moment, watching as Ikuto chuckled and continued to jump away from the girl. She and Ikuto ended up disappearing and Tadase sighed before continuing on with the others.

* * *

Ikuto and Kiyomi finally found their way back to the field, both of them smiling. "See? You need to have fun some more." Kiyomi told him as she handed him a chocolate ice cream. He licked it and shrugged.

"Maybe." She smiled and wrapped her arm with Ikuto's.

"We had a good day today." She said as she smiled up at him. He frowned and licked his ice cream. "Come on. If you don't think we had fun then the whole day was use--"

"Don't say that." He said suddenly. She blinked and stared at him.

"Huh?"

"It wasn't useless. I really liked it." She smiled and nodded.

"Good! Maybe when I come back we can have more fun!"

"Come back?" He asked. She nodded and sat down in the grass. She stared at her hands with a smile.

"I'm going away for a while."

"Where?" He asked as he turned to her. She shrugged.

"Who knows? I'm going to take my parents and Kagome and we're going to go and have adventures." She said smiling at him. He blinked and stared at her.

"But what about…" _Me? _"School?" He asked instead. She shrugged.

"I'll find a school somewhere." She said, for once her smile completely vanishing. "Staying in one place can choke a person like me. You and Yoru….You guys can understand that going somewhere is sometimes the best thing to do. You guys are cats after all. Cats don't just leave for the sake of leaving. They leave to find something, to do something, to escape from something." She looked down at her hands and the melting ice cream. "That's what I'm going to do. Escape." Ikuto stared at her, wondering what it is she was escaping from. "I'll be back though." She said smiling at him. "Make sure you have tons of adventures to tell me about ok?" She asked. He nodded once.

"Ok." She laughed a little and stood.

"Maybe we should throw these away." She offered. He looked at his ice cream, which was melting as well, and nodded.

"Maybe." She stopped and stared at him.

"Ikuto please smile." She asked. He blinked and nodded, smiling a little for her. She smiled as well and pulled him by his hand towards the trash barrel.

"When will you leave?" He asked her. She sighed and looked away from him to the sunset beside them.

"Tomorrow." She said softly.

"Tomorrow?" He asked, practically yelling. "But I didn't even get a chance to--" She laughed softly, cutting him off.

"But you did. We already know each other well enough. You're a silent, non-smiling, slowpoke of a cat, who loves chocolate ice cream, likes a pink haired girl named Amu, or whatever, and has some sort of history with that Kiddy King. Am I right?" He stared at her in utter confusion.

"How--"

"It's written all over your face." She said shaking her head. "And now you know that I'm a wild and childlike girl who likes cats and strawberry ice cream and is absolutely in love with you." She smiled and winked at him. "I'll see you when I get back, Ikuto-sama." She said as she turned around and left. Ikuto stared at her as she left and touched his cheek.

"You know," A brown haired man said from beside Ikuto. "If I were you, I'd go after her. At least to say goodbye." Ikuto looked at the man and blushed more.

"Whatever." He said dismissively. "What do you want Tsukasa?" Ikuto asked as he put his hands in his pockets again.

"Nothing." The man said smiling. Ikuto frowned more and stared at the ground.

"Where could I find her, Tsukasa?" He asked.

"If you follow your heart, you can certainly find her." The man said as he turned around. "If you don't believe that, then ask Yoru. He can find her Chara." Ikuto looked behind him at the elder man but blinked when he found the man was gone. He frowned and started walking.

"Ikuto. Maybe we should ask Amu-chan to help us make something for Kiyomi-nya." Yoru said floating by his ear. He looked at his Chara and nodded.

"Maybe." He said softly before changing his direction.

* * *

Kiyomi stared at her luggage, sighing softly. Why did Kagome have to say that to him? She shook her head and continued to pack. Where would she go first? Somewhere in Europe. That's where. She and her parents already decided to go backpacking in the mountains. Kiyomi sighed again and sat on her bed. "If you keep sighing like that I might not come back." Kiyomi turned around and smiled when Ikuto slid her window open from the porch outside her room. He smiled at her. "Hey, Shorty." She pouted at him and narrowed her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Slow Poke?" She asked as she stood and walked over to him. He shrugged and handed her a box.

"Yoru said he was going to miss you so he made you stuff." He said. Kiyomi smiled and looked at Yoru who was nodded proudly. She pulled the small cat to her and kissed his head gently.

"Thank you, Yoru." The cat's eyes closed, his cheeks turned pink and his mouth dropped open.

"You're welcome-nya." He said, his voice in a high pitch. Kiyomi giggled and pointed to the small egg on her dresser.

"You can go say hi to Kagome if you'd like." She said. Yoru nodded and floated over to the egg. "Well, would you like to share some of this stuff that Yoru made with me?" She asked. He nodded and came further into her room before sitting on the floor. She sat with him and handed him the box. "Was it just Yoru who wanted to come?" She asked him. Ikuto stared at the cookie in his hand, blushing.

"There's one that I made in there. I want you to have that one first." He said softly as he reached over to pull out a cookie shaped like a heart. He looked away, taking a bite of his own cookie. Kiyomi smiled and broke the heart in half and put one half in his hand. "What are--"

"You can have half of my heart and I'll have half or yours." She said as she showed the two separate pieces to him. "That way, when I come back," She pulled his hand to connect the cookie. "They can be one." She looked at him and smiled more. "Get it?" He blushed and looked at her before nodding. She smiled an looked over at Yoru and Kagome, who were floating over.

"She wanted a cookie-nya." He said as he picked up one. Kagome pulled the cookie apart and started to eat it, her head on Yoru's shoulder. Yoru blushed and ate his cookie as well. Kiyomi laughed and looked at Ikuto.

"I'll write ok? And if you'd like, I can call you." She said as she took a bite of her cookie.

"What if…something happens? And you never come back?" He asked, staring at his half of the cookie. Kiyomi thought about it and stood.

"Wait here." She said as she left the room for a moment. Ikuto didn't understand why he asked that. So what if she didn't come back? He barely knew her. What was he thinking? Why was he here anyways? He should leave. He started to stand when Kiyomi came back in. She smiled and walked over to him, putting her hands around his neck. On a small chain, a silver locket hung. He looked at it and picked it up with his fingers.

"What is this?" He asked. She smiled and put her hands behind her back.

"When Kagome takes over, I get that locket. It matches hers. It makes me do crazy things. So I took it off and I'm giving it to you so whenever you think you'll forget me, you have that necklace to remember me. I want that back, so no matter what I'm coming back here to get it." She said as she smiled. "Take good care of it." She told him. He stared at the locket, opening it.

"There's…" She nodded.

"It's a picture of you. I had Yoru bring it this afternoon. That way, when it closes, I'll always be close to you." She said smiling.

"Kiyomi!" Kagome said as she tried to float over to her with a camera. Kiyomi smiled and reached out to help but Yoru was already helping.

"I got it-nya. I'm a big man. I can help-nya." He said, sounding like he was struggling. Kiyomi smiled and looked at Ikuto.

"A picture? I'll get it developed in the morning and give it to Yoru at the airport--"

"No. I'll come to the airport to say goodbye." He said suddenly. She smiled.

"Make sure you're not late, Slowpoke." She said giggling. He smiled and held out his hand for the camera.

"I'll take tons of pictures of you so Yoru wont get sad when you're gone." Yoru pouted.

"Take pictures of Kagome too-nya!" Kagome blushed and looked away. Kiyomi smiled and took the camera from the two of them. She took a picture of Kagome blushing, Yoru smiling and blushing as well and the two of them together. Kagome snuck a kiss on Yoru's cheek in one of the pictures and Kiyomi smiled. "Kiss-nya…" She blushed before giggling again. Kiyomi smiled and turned around, taking pictures of Ikuto. He smiled for her and shook his head. He took the camera from her and took pictures of her as well, capturing her smile forever in multiple pictures. She smiled brightly and took the camera from him, moving over to him to take one of the both of them. She smiled at him before moving the camera high enough to take the picture and when she clicked the button and the flash went off, her expression changed. She dropped her arm and looked at Ikuto while touching her cheek. He smiled at her and took the camera.

"Hm," He said with a frown. "I wanted you smiling when I kissed you." He said as he sighed. "We'll just have to do it again." He said as he kissed her cheek and took the picture. Once again, her eyes and mouth were wide, her cheeks bright pink. He smiled at her and poked her cheeks. "Hey, what happened to that smile?" She turned to him and smiled brightly before jumping on him, making him fall back. She hugged him tight and laughed in his ear gently. She moved his hand up and smiled at the camera, clicking the picture as Ikuto kissed her cheek. She smiled down at him and sat up.

"Happy?" He looked at the picture.

"Very." He assured. Yoru took the camera and placed it on the table.

"We'll take one now-nya!" Kagome said giggling. Yoru smiled at her, his cheeks still red and looked at the two.

"What she said-nya!" Kiyomi smiled and sat down right, resting her head on Ikuto's shoulder with a broad smile on her face. Ikuto moved her head to look at him and just as Yoru finished counting, his lips connected with hers.

"Hehe!" Kagome giggled as Kiyomi's eyes went wide. Ikuto pulled away, a smile on his face and a blush in his cheeks before he stood and helped Kiyomi up.

"I'll see you at the airport, Shrimp." Kiyomi smiled at him and nodded.

"Eight o'clock, Snail." He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her lips gently again before jumping off of her porch and started walking away.

"Bye bye Yoru!" Kagome said as she waved at Yoru, who floated out the window. Kiyomi and Kagome went to the porch.

"Hey Slow Poke!" Kiyomi called. Ikuto stopped and looked back at her. "Bring something for me to remember you by ok? You get the locket and what do I get? Lousy pictures? Don't think so." Ikuto laughed and nodded.

"Will do, Shorty." He said as he continued to walk. Kiyomi smiled and put her hands on her chin, staring as Ikuto walked away into the sun.

* * *

"Kiyomi, we have to go." Her mother said.

"Wait…He isn't here yet." Kiyomi said as she stared around the terminal. It was almost eight. Where was he?

"Hey, Shrimp." She heard from her left. She turned and smiled at him. He was smiling back at her and held out his arms. "Here I am." She pouted and walked over to him.

"Baka!" She shouted. "You almost missed me!" He smiled and moved to stand close to her.

"I already miss you." He said softly. Her cheeks grew pink and he laughed softly. "I had to get something." He said as he put his hands around her neck. She looked down and found a heavy silver chain with a cross on it hanging down.

"You're stupid necklace!" She said smiling as she looked up at him. He smiled and tapped it gently.

"I've had that since I was a kid. Keep that safe cause I want it back." She nodded and looked over at her parents, who were sighing and talking to the flight attendants at the gate.

"I have to go now. I'll write though." She said. He nodded and gave her a piece of paper.

"Read it later." He told her. She nodded and handed him a small package.

"Open it later." She mimicked as she started to walk away. Ikuto grabbed her arm and pulled her close to kiss her lips. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back for a moment, enjoying the love-filled atmosphere that surrounded them, before pulling away. "You know, I think I've fallen even more in love with you." She said giggling as she kissed him again before running off. "I know!" She called to her parents. "I'm sorry!" She looked back and waved to him, making him wave back with a smile. She gasped and turned around to run back to him. "Give this to Yoru. It's from Kagome." She said as she handed him a small piece of paper. "I'll call you later tonight, Ikuto-sama." She said as she turned around again.

"I'll be waiting, Kiyomi." He called to her.

"Don't worry, I'm not a slow poke like you!" She said giggling before she disappeared at the end of the tunnel. He sighed and looked down at the paper in his left hand and the package in his right. He turned around and started on his walk home.

--------~On the plane~-------------

Kiyomi had been staring at the letter that Ikuto had given her. What did it say inside? She touched the cross on her neck and smiled. Ikuto was going to be waiting for her. She looked over at her parents, who were both sleeping, and turned the letter over to read it.

_"Shrimp,_" She frowned and glared at the letter. "_I think that I'm a bit late when I say all of this. From the moment I saw you, I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful you were. I know, I sound really cheesy, but hear me out. You told me that the best thing to do sometimes is forget. I think you're wrong. I think the best thing to do when your heart is heavy and you're sad is to smile. Smile and remember the things that made you happy. Smile and think of the person you miss. I'm going to do that. Whenever I look at that stupid locket you gave me, I'm going to smile and think of you and you're stupid smile_." She laughed and shook her head. "_That stupid smile that makes my heart jump. That stupid smile that makes you look so cute. I hope you think of me too. If you look in the envelope, there's my number and address since you forgot to ask._" Kiyomi looked up from the letter and sigh. She had forgotten. "_Good thing I'm so smart._" She laughed and shook her head, thinking to herself, "Arrogant cat." "_Anyway, what you said yesterday, that you were a wild and childlike girl that is completely in love with me…well, I think this morning I finally realized that, I'm the same way. I'm a silent, non-smiling, slowpoke of a cat, who is absolutely in love with chocolate ice cream and a girl named Kiyomi. Make sure you come back on time. Being slow is my thing ok? Love, Ikuto Tsukiyomi._" Kiyomi stared at his name. She was in his name. She smiled and closed the letter. She was going to be with him no matter what happened.

Missing him already, Kiyomi took out the pictures from the night before and flipped through them, staring at Ikuto's face, tracing his smile with her fingers. She couldn't wait until they were back in Japan so she could see him again.

-------~In the field~-------

Ikuto stared at the package in his hands. What was in it? Why was it wrapped in brown paper? He thought it was just the pictures but there had to be something else, it was heavier then a bunch of pictures. "Yoru," Ikuto said as he sat up.

"Hm?" The chara asked him.

"What did Kagome write?" He asked. Yoru shrugged and handed him the paper.

"I can't read-nya." He said. Ikuto took the paper from him and read it out loud.

"Yoru," He began. "It was great playing with you all these weeks. You are the funniest cat I've ever known. I will be looking forward to talking to you when Kiyomi-chan calls Ikuto. She wants me to write down that she loves you too, Yoru. The 'too' is added because I love you." Ikuto looked over at Yoru, who was making odd noises, wiggling in the sparkling and pink atmosphere that was behind him. Ikuto smiled at him and kept reading. "It might seem sudden, but Kiyomi and I believe that if you wait to tell someone something, you'll miss every chance you get. She doesn't really think that since she al…she almost messed up with Ikuto but that's ok." Ikuto read it slower. "Kiyomi finally got the guts to do something she wanted. She finally got a chance to tell Ikuto how she felt after three years."

"Three years-nya? We just met her." Yoru said.

_"You go to my school._" Ikuto remembered her say. He sighed and put his hand to his forehead.

"I'm such an idiot." He scolded at himself. "She went to my school. I should have noticed her before."

"Ikuto!" Yoru said as he shook Ikuto's arm. "Keep reading-nya." Ikuto nodded and kept reading.

"Even though she liked Ikuto, she only just started to love him. Yesterday in the field, when she saw him just laying there like he didn't have a care in the world made her fall for him. I think it's romantic. If it wasn't for us though, Yoru, she and Ikuto wouldn't be together. Good planning. When we get back from wherever we go, you two will be the first we call. Please don't change too much while we're gone. And don't find someone else to love, Ikuto-sama." He paused and looked at Yoru, who shrugged. "_Kiyomi only has one heart and she hopes to give it to you. Please don't break it._" Ikuto licked his lip slowly and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"What does it say after that Ikuto? Ikuto!" Yoru poked his master with his paw. "What else did she say-nya!"

"We love you both," He said, opening his eyes to read it again. "We want you both to love us. We'll see you when we get back. Love, Kagome and Kiyomi Kamikuto." Ikuto stared at her name.

"That sounds like your name-nya." He said, turning his head. Ikuto nodded and blinked. His name was in hers. "Hey," Yoru said. "You know what? Kiyomi is in your name-nya." Ikuto couldn't help but smile and nod.

"That it is."

"What did Kiyomi give you?" Yoru asked as he looked at the package. Ikuto picked up the package and opened it. Out of it fell a package labeled, "Cute Pictures of Ikuto + Kiyomi," a note, and a frame. He turned the frame over and found it was the picture of their kiss. He smiled and ran his thumb over Kiyomi's face. She was so cute when she blushed, he thought. He opened the note and smiled as he read it.

"_Snail, I though that picture was the only one that really captured how I feel for you. You make me do crazy things, make me blush and even surprise me. Everything about that picture screams you. It's one of the things I love about you. I could go on, telling you all the tings you already know, like how funny and cute you are, but I'll keep this short. I love you, Ikuto. If you don't love me, that's fine. I'll make you love me. I'll do whatever it is while I'm away to make you miss and love me. I sound creepy but that's ok. Love makes you do stupid things. I know I said that when you're sad the best thing to do is just forget for a while, but please don't forget me. I know that no matter where I go, who I meet, and what I do, I will always remember you and love you. I'll see you when I get back ok, Snail? Don't loose that locket and keep it close to your heart cause that's where I'm supposed to be. Thank you for everything, Ikuto, you slow poke. I love you even if you're a non-smiling, chocolate loving cat. Love, Kiyomi Kamikuto._" Ikuto smiled as he finished the letter and closed it.

"What does it say-nya?" Yoru asked him, ignorant of what she had said.

"It says that I'm a silent, non-smiling, slow poke of a cat who loves a girl named Kiyomi Kamikuto." He said smiling as he held onto the locket tightly, looking up at the sky, thinking of Kiyomi.


End file.
